Charlie Hughes Showcase – Ramsey’s Saturday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>198 teams. 342 games. Four venues. Three days, from Noon on Friday until about 6:00 p.m. on Sunday filled with Indiana High School Basketball. The annual IBCA/IHSAA Charlie Hughes Showcase is the single best evaluation and recruiting event of the calendar year. As always, Prep Hoops Indiana will have boots on the ground coverage from the opening tip-off until the final buzzer of this great event. With two days now in the books it is time to, once again, empty out the notebook from what we watched between Carmel High School and Westfield High School on the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Young Prospects Duel it Out at Westfield</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We made our first venue change of the weekend on Saturday for the 11:20 a.m. game on the main floor at Westfield High School. Two of the best rising sophomore prospects in the state of Indiana were set to battle along with two of the more talented incoming freshmen in the state. The game, which was played in front of assistant coaches from Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Purdue, certainly lived up to the hype.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From the opening tip it was [player_tooltip player_id='2457404' first='Caleb' last='Coolman'] (Penn H.S. 2028) who dominated on an individual basis. He connected on his first three three-point shots of the game as the Kingsmen jumped out to an early lead. However, when New Albany brought in Ashton McKee (New Albany H.S. 2027) it changed the game for the Bulldogs. The left-handed 5'11" point guard immediately started impacting the game defensively. He collected four rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots in his first rotation to provide a major spark. Then, his twin brother Reece McKee started scoring the basket to bring an additional punch for the Bulldogs. Those two were very instrumental in changing the course of this contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coolman continued to dominate, especially from beyond the arc, for Penn but [player_tooltip player_id='2382148' first='Noah' last='Washington'] finally got on the board in the third quarter connecting on a pair of three-point shots and scoring 10 points. The balanced scoring attack ultimately led to a 60-53 victory for New Albany over Penn.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1563826' first='TJ' last='Washington'] (New Albany H.S. 2026) led the way with 13 points while [player_tooltip player_id='2622053' first='Seth' last='Winslow'] (New Albany H.S. 2027) and [player_tooltip player_id='2382148' first='Noah' last='Washington'] (New Albany H.S. 2028) each added 10 points. Reece McKee (New Albany H.S. 2027) and [player_tooltip player_id='2888227' first='Karson' last='Stoudemire'] (New Albany H.S. 2029) both finished with 9 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Meanwhile, in the loss for Penn, [player_tooltip player_id='2457404' first='Caleb' last='Coolman'] ended up scoring 34 points on 8-14 shooting from three-point range. He was absolutely electric in this contest despite coming up short on the scoreboard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Noblesville Notched Another Win Before Running Out of Steam</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Admittedly, it looked the Millers were a bit worn down by their fourth game of the weekend as they lost one to New Albany. However, before that, they notched a third straight impressive victory knocking off Silver Creek 58-40.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1534261' first='Justin' last='Curry II'] (Noblesville H.S. 2026) and [player_tooltip player_id='1561054' first='Baron' last='Walker'] (Noblesville H.S. 2026) continued to solidify themselves as one of the best backcourts in the state of Indiana finishing with 21 points and 20 points respectively. Curry II's recruitment is a little bit further along, but Walker remains one of the most talked about prospects through two days at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. We will be very surprised if he doesn't receive multiple mid-major offers coming out of the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was an ugly game for Silver Creek with a really bad, slow start that doomed them from the beginning. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1385611' first='Kasen' last='Daeger'] was a bright spot in the contest for the Dragons scoring 14 points while knocking in a couple of three-point shots as he is prone to do. It is good to see Daeger back on the court, and healthy, while knocking in some triples.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crown Point Solidifies Themselves Among the State's Best</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Going 4-0 while playing one of the toughest schedule's at the Charlie Hughes Showcase is not an easy feat. Crown Point beat Mt. Vernon (Fortville) and Parke Heritage on Friday before finishing off the perfect weekend on Saturday with wins over Lawrence North and Fishers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561617' first='Dikembe' last='Shaw'] (Crown Point H.S. 2026) continued to be excellent on an individual basis as well scoring 31 points against Lawrence North followed by 24 points in the Bulldogs' win over Fishers. The 6'6" wing is proving himself as one of the best prospects in the state of Indiana while playing so well against the best of the best competition. Shaw's running mate [player_tooltip player_id='1561445' first='Mason' last='Darrell'] (Crown Point H.S. 2026) has turned heads as well scoring 14 points and 22 points in the two wins respectively. There is nobody who plays with a more consistent motor in the backcourt than Darrell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Crown Point team is undoubtedly a Top 5 team in Class 4A and made their case for being preseason #1 over the course of the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Don't Sleep on Carmel</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is certainly fair to say that Carmel has been a bit "down" in the last few seasons. They have just one postseason win since their 26-2 State Championship in 2021 and finished below .500, 10-13, last season for the first time since 2010-2011. However, as expected, the Greyhounds simply won't allow themselves to be "down" for long. They took the first steps to showing they are a team that shouldn't be slept on with their performance on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Greyhounds knocked off reigning Class 3A State Champion South Bend St. Joseph who is moving up to Class 4A this season. Then, they defeated Columbus East in the night cap. Carmel will face Northview and Northridge on Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2046155' first='Ben' last='Bremer'] (Carmel H.S. 2026) was the star of their impressive win over SBSJ scoring 21 points while shooting the ball very well from beyond the arc. 6'8" forward [player_tooltip player_id='1560952' first='Evan' last='Harrell'] (Carmel H.S. 2026) was really good in that contest as well finishing with 19 points. Harrell is looking healthy and playing some of his best basketball in a while. College programs are starting to take notice once again as well. His name came up in several conversations in the gym with college coaches on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In their win over Columbus East, 6'5" guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561129' first='Julian' last='Vogt'] (Carmel H.S. 2026) shot the ball very well from beyond the arc. The long, lean three-point shooting specialist connected on at least three three-point shots in the second half alone including a tough one on the move and another where he used a nice side step dribble to get a cleaner look. When the shots are falling Vogt is a very intriguing prospect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other News and Notes From the Day</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1988138' first='Drew' last='Haffner'] (Westfield H.S. 2026) played well day according to trusted reports. Those reports would seem to be confirmed by the fact that he received an offer from Huntington on Saturday evening.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1988137' first='Roosevelt' last='Franklin'] (George Washington H.S. 2026), one of the top scorers in the state of Indiana as a junior, went off for 41 points in a loss to Evansville Bosse. He can flat out put the ball in the basket.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. (Cathedral H.S. 2026) played very well for the Fighting Irish as they split games with Avon and Plainfield. The 6'3 left-handed wing is one of the more unique players in the star of Indiana. He draws fouls at a high rate, plays truly ambidextrously as a scorer and passer, and is a nightmare matchup almost regardless of who you put on him. It is hard to ignore his consistent production while playing against the best of the best.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='2140420' first='Nash' last='Sigmund'] (Decatur Central H.S. 2027) knocked in eight three-point shots and scored 28 points in a 72-60 win over Merrillville. One of the best catch-and-shoot threats in Indiana's Class of 2027.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->